"The only thing, because the investigation is still under process, the NCAA won't let us comment about it other than the fact that the practice-log process, that thing was corrected as soon as I learned of the issue," Rodriguez told hosts Bruce Hooley and Chris Spielman. "As soon as this whole thing is over, I'll be happy to discuss all the other details."

Rodriguez wasn’t asked and did not specify when he corrected the problem.

This goes to the heart of the matter: was this a minor administrative issue quickly corrected when the papers went from one desk to another, or is this a major, embarrassing documentation gap? Yesterday I speculated that these forms probably didn't exist, otherwise someone would bring it up to turn this mountain-type object into a molehill. The Rodriguez appearance makes it clear that the reticence to go into detail not a smokescreen but widespread caution.

And then there's this: a contact close to the team has told me that the 2008 forms do exist, were found shortly after the audit, and have been turned in to the university and NCAA. I'm trying to confirm that with the AD itself, but I'm betting they won't say anything official about it. If that's the case, this is a minor administrative goof and not a potentially damaging development worthy of Free Press quotes like…

“The enforcement staff is going to be looking at whether the institution failed to monitor,” Buckner said. That could be “a major violation. It’s one step below lack of institutional control.”

…but, hey, that's just someone else making a statement in response to an unpublished, possibly leading question and an objective reporter can't be held responsible for framing that.

Q.

A. If that's the case, various Free Press staffers are going to have to explain just how that closet is full of dead hookers.

I mean there has to be at least 10K nerds living within 4miles of Schembechler Hall that are more than willing to assist the compliance department... that is if they are too overworked to get a critical part of their job done.

or maybe M officials just can't answer it at this time. what was/is the process for this at west virginia (i know, i hate to even bring them in to this issue but it needs to be asked). this isn't just some minor process and i can imagine it to be a bit of a pain in the ass for whomever is responsible for it. maybe coach rod wasn't aware of what michigan's process was for recording this and he was continuing what he had done at wvu.

Thanks to MGoBlog for allowing newbies with 3 points (soon to be 4) to post wonderful questions like this one.

Query -- Has a single Detroit newspaper explained whether CARA-type documents are compiled at other BCS schools? We know that they are not an NCAA requirement? Is it in fact something that Michigan and only a few other schools do?

RCMB comment: "He always gets away with it. Ann Arbor police probably just slapped him on the wrist. If he does jail time he's qualified, however, to lead practices immediately after he gets out because he's done his time."

because that was part of the Freep's initial allegations. They stated that the players falsely filled out the forms:

The players said they had not personally reported their concerns to the athletic department’s Compliance Services Office — and, in fact, had signed forms stating that rules had been followed.

“They were making us sign those — you’d get in trouble if you didn’t sign,” one player on the 2008 team said. “We signed that and joked about that: ‘We work out way more than this.’ We can’t do anything. We were trying to play.”

As soon as this whole thing is over, I'll be happy to discuss all the other details.

This signal was all I needed to hear. We're simply acting cautiously, shock, and there is no scandal nor was there a coverup attempt. Somebody screwed up on administration and that's all there is to it from the inside. Now how these disclosures are being handled by the outside MSM, that is in my opinion scandalous muckraking worthy of scrutiny.

"Why has Rich Rodriguez not publicly distanced himself from Ed Martin?"
- Disgraced former booster may still be calling the shots... from the other side
Inside this section: Does RR have a Ouiji board?

I wonder if Pat Forde will feel compelled to correct this part of his column now:

Michigan (9). Record: 5-6. Ranking: Unranked. All-time ranking heading into 2009: first. What's gone wrong: What hasn't? The Wolverines have collapsed in the second half of this season, especially defensively. Coordinator Greg Robinson could be on his way to a second firing in two years, the previous one coming as head coach at Syracuse. An ongoing NCAA investigation into rule-breaking practice hours doesn't help -- especially with the report this week that the football program failed to keep the required practice logs. How the season will end: with a mauling from Ohio State on Saturday.

I have forms in my desk that people filled out ten years ago for a research project. Maybe I was supposed to have turned them in to someone, but damned if I know who that might be. However, I HAVE the forms, they were filled out and signed, and should someone come looking for them, I've got them right here.

I can full well imagine that RichRod had the forms on file and was just waiting for the day someone asked for them, while on the other side compliance was waiting for them to show up in campus mail someday.

But yeah, what if Dick Fraud just filled out those forms at lunch yesterday and wrote stuff like "Mallett banged sluts all day" or "have you seen Nick play clearly he's not practicing!" and then forged Sheridan's signature. Do you have any forms like that on your desk? Because you gotta admit that would look pretty bad.